2600 words
by Fluffernutter8
Summary: One unrelated, 100 word drabble for each letter of the alphabet. Prompts chosen randomly. Varying characters and POVs; BB and HA if any pairings.
1. Arrogant

The chapters of this will be short and there will be exactly 26 of them because the point of this story is to do one 100 word drabble (I follow the Open on Sunday drabble rule) for each letter of the alphabet. Prompts were chosen randomly, brainstormed by family and friends. The prompt will be stated as the title of each chapter. Enjoy!

Arrogant

He was late to their first crime scene and did not apologize, so she immediately labeled him as arrogant. Moments later, he did the same to her as he watched her boss around the entire FBI tech team. Every time they met, they each reaffirmed their belief that the other was vain and self-important. Then he was right about Mrs. Masruk's affair and she was right about Farid and suddenly arrogant wasn't the sum definition of the partners.

Years later they are drinking margaritas (Angela's choice) and reminiscing and they all decide that they couldn't have started another way.


	2. Bet

Bet

"One week."

"Two!"

"Correction: five days. Ten bucks says I'm right."

"They won't be together all the time. He can't get fed up with her over the phone."

"You've never met Dr. Brennan, have you?"

"Abe's good. He can handle one squint for two weeks."

"Actually, she comes with this nerd posse. Booth's the only one who can deal with them. They freeze out anyone else."

"Abe doesn't have a chance, huh?"

"Nope. They should just stop trying to assign anyone else to the Jeffersonian."

A grinning Booth walked out of the locker room. He had a partner to visit.

A/N: This takes place sometime during season 1.


	3. Curry

Curry

Cam came back to work a week after Eppes. She looked mostly okay, but sometimes she jumped at loud noises.

They were working late on a new case. Hodgins called out for Indian food as they did paperwork together. They smelled the curries before Angela pulled them out. She held the carton gingerly, focusing on the sticker that said "Free with orders of $50 or more". Cam sat frozen.

"You know what?" Hodgins clapped his hands. "I'm in more of a pizza mood. Why don't we give this stuff to security?"

"Great." Cam shook her tension off. "I want pineapple."

A/N: After Man on Death Row. It seemed a little strange that Cam would be completely unaffected by the fact that she almost died. If you'll recall, there was that whole clue with the curry ingredients.


	4. Devilish

Devilish

Ten years later, their best conversations still happen in the car.

"He got back at midnight and won't tell me where he was!"

"He's a teenager, Booth."

"So he should get to act out because of his age?"

"His brain isn't fully formed. It's not his fault."

The case is a serial killer focused on teens. Booth snaps two pens while trying to detach.

Parker comes home at 11:30 and finds his dad punching the bag viciously. He watches for a moment before touching his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he says.

"I'm always going to love you," his father answers.

A/N: Wow, I'm really angst-focused. That totally could be a B/B terrible twos kid story, and yet it was angsty!


	5. Engage

Engage

"Why would I be okay with engagement?"

Because I can see you in a wedding dress. Because I've seen rings that I want to buy for you. Because when we go visit my parents, they'll make little remarks about how we're "living in sin". Because I can't imagine life without you. Because I want you to.

He said none of this. Love is not about molding each other to specializations. He accepts her the way she is. But he does it with an eye roll.

"Whatever, Bones, alright? We're a loosely committed couple of hot high rollers..."

A/N: Gosh, the prompt was "engage"! That should have been fluff. But I couldn't fit an engagement scene into 100 words, so you get this. I know the next two will be angsty also, but the one after that will be lighter.


	6. Frumpy

Frumpy

Angela almost dressed in her ugliest, frumpiest clothes just to spite Caroline. _//Ugly it up a little!// _Then she remembered that she should dress comfortably for her time in jail.

She put on a pair of black leggings of Bren's from last time Angela forced her to yoga. As spiritual as Angela was, she needed a tangible connection to her friend.

Hodgins came in behind her.

"You ready to go?" His voice was gentle. He still thought she was going to testify.

"Yeah." She took his hand and went to go see if jail was worth her tax dollars.


	7. Garden

Garden

When Angela first came to his house, she decided that his yard was too orderly. So she took herself a plot of land under a window and planted a million overlapping flowers and herbs. Seeing the garden made him feel like they were really together.

One day he came home early and found Angela packing pots into her trunk.

"I was going to leave a note," she defended.

"It's okay."

Hodgins stared at the garden. It had made her seem a part of his life. It seemed appropriate that it also made him truly believe that it was the end.


	8. Huey Lewis

Dedication: A long overdue thank you to a2zmom, my faithful reviewer for my various fics. Thanks so much!

Huey Lewis

"Bones, you grew up in the eighties. You must know him!"

"I'm sorry, Booth, I don't."

"Okay, have you seen Back to the Future?"

"It sounds familiar."

"How'd you miss it?!"

"I was probably studying."

"Course you were."

"Booth, I just don't know!"

"It's Huey Lewis."

"I've never heard of him.

"Okay, we need an emergency practice."

"What?!"

"Don't argue about this, Bones. We're never going to win the pop culture game at Angela's without practice."

"I _told_ you to ask for another partner."

"Maybe I will!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"..."

"..."

"You're not moving."  
"My house, 7:00. We'll start with the seventies."


	9. Iridescent

Iridescent

"My glasses can see through walls!"

Brennan stared at Parker's iridescent glasses as he grinned up at her. When Booth had called her that morning saying that his mother had been hurt, she knew that she would have to deal with some childish antics. But she had expected bed-jumping, not total flights of fantasy. Parker was a smart enough child. How could he think that silvery 3-D glasses could enable him to see through walls?

She looked at Parker, twinkling up at her with Booth's eyes.

"Do you want to go look through some trees at the park?"


	10. Jumble

Jumble

Jack Hodgins was having a problem. A few problems, actually:

a. His anger management rubber band had snapped.

b. His tuna sandwich was too mayonnaise-y and therefore soggy.

c. Cam had said "dirt" three times that morning.

d. He couldn't figure out this damn word jumble.

Zack came over with his cup-of-soup (Wednesday was cup-of-soup day; he was experimenting with variety. All other days were mac and cheese.)

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to get this word jumble."

"Can I see?"

Within 30 seconds, the jumble was done. Hodgins tried not to stab his pencil through the newpaper.

e. Zack.


	11. Knitting

Knitting

The second week of her eighth month, Brennan was put on bed rest. When Annie Booth heard that her son couldn't keep his girlfriend occupied, she suggested a hobby.

"How about knitting?"

Her son did not snort because his parents had never met Bones. Actually the hormones were making it the same for him.

Surprisingly, when supplies arrived, Brennan knitted obsessively. By the ninth month, Hodgins was getting annoyed because she was now making woolen microscope caps.

She went into labor while Booth was at work. When he arrived, he was unsurprised to see a needle buried in a wall.


	12. Lark

Lark

Ranger training did not cover chases in unfamiliar, rainy woods. Booth punched a tree.

"That's not going to help find the suspect." His partner calmly adjusted her poncho."We should get inside."

They bumbled around for ten minutes before admitting that they were lost.

"Great!" Booth leaned against a wet, vine-covered tree, which promptly collapsed.

"You found a cabin!" Brennan's voice was cheerful.

Later, as the now dry partners were going to sleep, they heard birds calling one another.

"Stupid birds," Booth mumbled.

"They're larks."

"Mmm hm." Another call sounded. "What's that one?"

"Sparrow." Her voice trailed off sleepily.


	13. Mambo

Mambo

_i._

They are not a couple. They have slept together, but will be always be just partners. Still, they retire at the same time and simultaneously refuse to give up their apartments.

_ii._

Booth convinces Brennan to take a dance class. His charm smile, aged and wrinkled, still works. They are totally synchronized as they mambo. The instructor asks how long they've been married. They still trip over each other's words.

_iii._

Eighty years of healthy living do not stop Booth's heart attack.

"Family only!" The doctor is firm. For the first time, Bones wishes that she had married him.


	14. Nasturtium

Nasturtium

Roses are obviously cliché.

White lilies seem too simple and purple too bold.

Daffodils, her favorite, would be a good choice, but they would make him feel like he's just getting brownie points.

He could default to daisies, but they look a little shriveled.

Geraniums look bunchy.

Marigolds smell funny.

Black-eyed Susans look like weeds.

The tulips look wooden.

He is sure he is hyperventilating. He cannot choose a stupid flower for Bones. He should just get chocolate.

An hour later, Booth thrusts a pot of orange and pink nasturtiums into Brennan's arms. She raises an eyebrow and smiles.


	15. Optometry

Optometry

"Stop fiddling! You'll break them."

"I hate them, but I won't break them."

"I told you to get contacts."

"Little pieces of plastic in my eyes? No thanks."

A stunning redhead interrupted the Booth-Brennan bickering. "Hi, I'm Kara. Which way is Authentications?" She spoke directly to Booth.

"Uhhh..."

"That way," Brennan pointed.

"Do you work here too?" Kara blinked at her. When neither one answered, she walked away.

"Why did she think you worked here?" Brennan couldn't comprehend.

"The glasses, I think." Booth was equally shocked.

Booth broke first. His face split into a grin. "Definitely not getting contacts."


	16. Physics

Physics

At age five, Zack did not get homework, so he helped his brothers and sisters with theirs. He looked at the paper his seventeen year old brother Joe was squinting at, covered in letters and numbers.

"What is this?"

Joe looked down at him. "It's math," he simplified.

"No it's not. You're using Young's modulus," Zack glared.

Joe looked surprised. "Okay, it's physics."

"Here's your problem." Zack's little fingers took the pencil. "You raised to the tenth instead of the ninth." He corrected the equation with thick, messy numbers and went around the table to help Deborah with her spelling.


	17. Quest

Dedication: To GiorgiaKerr, who's been a fabulous reviewer. Thanks to her and all my other reviewers. You're awesome!!

Quest

There were steps to becoming a knight: page first, then squire. You had to go through trials and challenges and take it step by step to be able finally earn your spurs. There were hoops to be jumped through before you could get to questing and dragon slaying and princess rescuing.

Sometimes Seeley Booth felt that he had to go through similar steps to rescue his own princess from her tower. The pace was slow, but Booth was patient. One day soon, he knew, he would be able to climb across the drawbridge to rescue the princess who waited within.


	18. Rappel

Rappel

Jack Hodgins's deepest secret was not his money but rather his fear of heights. That was why he stuttered when Angela suggested that they go rappelling. He had worked damn hard to get her to go out with him; he wasn't giving up because he didn't want to bounce off cliffs supported by strings.

He almost changed his mind as they stood at the top of the huge, rocky cliff. But then Angela looked at him so gleefully that he took the plunge anyway. And about halfway down she kissed him and suddenly the height didn't seem so scary anymore.


	19. Syringe

Syringe

"Tempe, just take it!"

"No!" She stamped her foot.

"One more, sweetheart," Max wheedled, holding out the medicine. "It's pink, your favorite."

Tempe scowled and grabbed the syringe. "There! But I don't feel better."

Max chuckled. "Wait a little bit. Do you want to read a story?"

"Yes, please." She snuggled into her bed while Max got down the well-worn copy of The Secret Garden.

By chapter three, she was drifting off. As he turned off the lamp and tiptoed from the room, she grabbed his hand.

"Thanks for staying home with me, Daddy."

"Feel better, pumpkin. I love you."


	20. Tuttifrutti

Tutti-Frutti

Booth felt he had some authority in regards to hospital pudding because he'd sampled it everywhere. His favorite was rice, which was fortunate because most people preferred vanilla. Tutti-frutti wasn't popular, possibly because it tasted like medicine.

His first hospital visit was at age six. He had broken his arm sliding into second base. The second time, his dad had gotten angry and suddenly his nose was broken. After that, hospital visits were an annual occurrence. And through the years, Booth hadn't learned to avoid getting hurt, but that he could fit four puddings into his pockets if he stuffed.


	21. Unconscious

Unconscious

Being shot is strangely peaceful. After a few moments, he separates from his body and the pain disappears. It reminds Booth of swimming in the ocean: support beneath his back that seems both there and not, rushing in his ears, and blue everywhere. What is that blue?. As it compresses into Bones' eyes, he comes back into his body with a rush of sensation: the hand in his, sirens, people shouting. Bones is saying _something_ and he wants to listen, but it hurts too much and he drowns in the ocean supporting him, fighting against the peace all the way.

A/N: I have no idea what being shot is like.


	22. Virus

A/N: I'm going to be gone until Thursday night, so I've posted every chapter but the last one. Enjoy!

Virus

Booth could feel Brennan's anger as he came in, but he ignored it.

"Morning, Bones."

She nodded crisply.

"You're looking beautiful."

"Not especially."

"We've got a case."

She just moved to get her things. Booth glanced around, waiting and noticed something.

"Your computer's off? I don't think I've ever..."

She slammed a folder. "I can't believe you!"

"Huh?"

"That email you sent infected my computer. It won't turn on."

"I didn't-"

"Let's just work. Forget my computer problems."

Angela poked her head in. "Oh, you too? Seems like it infected the whole Jeffersonian network."

"Say it with me: 'sorry, Booth'."


	23. Wander

Wander

The medic pronounces Parker dead right away. Late that night Booth leaves the camp. He was told to stay on base, but his feet walk him around the sentries and away.

He is intimate with death, but Parker's is different. He had youthlight and lovelight in his eyes and Booth can't forget it.

He knows he should be doing paperwork, the goddamn paperwork that will tell how Edward Parker left the earth. He knows he should go back to his bed, but he can't because Teddy will never go to bed. He keeps walking because Teddy will never go home.


	24. Xenophobia

Xenophobia

Ten years as Jeffersonian security had taught Ted some things. That scientists did crazy experiments, that Dr. Brennan had a troubled past, that Dr. Hodgins flirted with everyone. He also knew that the platform was sacred. When someone left the lab, their badge was practically snatched away from them. Everyone had to sign contracts swearing not to copy a badge. So when Agent Booth stormed onto the platform, Ted thought that Dr. Brennan would dismember him herself. But instead she asked for a badge for Booth, and Ted started to think that maybe the Jeffersonian Wall was coming down.


	25. Yenta

Yenta

The weirdest moment of Booth's day was not the plotting wives or the fact that the case was cracked by a tooth. The strangest thing was that Angela had heard about him and Rebecca last of anyone (Zack didn't count). After Bones had gotten gossipy- and it was gossip; he didn't buy that subject of mutual interest thing for a second- he had thought Angela would be the first to know.

He stopped in the doorway of Cam's office and already knew what he was going to do. He would just have to make sure that Bones didn't find out.

A/N: Yenta: Yiddish for a gossipy person.


	26. Zest

Zest

Rain used to call for hot soup. Now it meant Bones's spaghetti with cream and lemon zest. Usually when the sky looked threatening, she would invite him over. But today, as rain poured down, pasta hadn't been mentioned once. Which was why Booth was currently in his car trying to think up a good excuse to go up to Bones's apartment and have a steaming plate of his now-favorite food.

"Forget it." He stormed upstairs and knocked. The door opened immediately.

"Just in the neighborhood?"

He looked sheepish.

"Come in, Booth," she said simply and opened the door wider.

A/N: And that's a wrap! This has been so much fun for me; probably my best all around fanfic experience. Huge thank yous to ALL my reviewers and to my Bean, beta of the world. I seriously want to do this again. That means suggestions. So my challenge to you guys is to give me a new challenge for drabbles. Either you could suggest more alphabet prompts or a completely new system. Drop a review and tell me. Also, I'll be removing everything but the story (notes, titles) soon so the word count comes to exactly 2600 words, cause that'll look cool, eh?


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